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Today I’m sharing one of my FAVORITE tips (aka: it saves my ass) for social media management. It is something I use for my own social media content and what I use for each of my clients.

I have made a beautiful video explaining it, but if you’re more of a in-and-out-give-me-the-information kind of person, I’m writing this short (HA! #notinthislifetime) blog post and explanation for you…

As in, take 20-30 minutes ONE DAY each week and plan out what you’re going to post on your social media platforms for the rest of the week and get that shiznit scheduled.

Think of it as meal prep, but for social media.

So many online entrepreneurs and small business owners I talk to all have one thing in common: the social media side of their business tends to be a drag.

“UGH, I have to post this on Facebook and Twitter, don’t I?” or “I need to be more active on social media, I just don’t have time!” or “I know social media is important and I think I have a Facebook page, but I just don’t know what to do with it.”

It’s always the last thing on your mind because when you’re doing business for yourself and doing what love, your mind is always on that side of it. Of growing your business and doing more of what you love.

Social media is a very necessary aspect of your business, but it may not be something you particularly enjoy or have time to do.

So that is where this tip comes in handy, and that is why it’s so awesome to have a social media manager and copywriter on your team too!

Are you ready to create your own content calendar? Download it HERE and let’s get started.

I mean, I feel like it’s pretty self-explanatory, but in case it isn’t, here’s an explanation.

I’ve made rows for each different social media platform that you could be on. (Remember, you don’t have to do all of them! Just pick one or two to do consistently.) I have then made columns for each day of the week.

So, let’s go through this together…(PSA: You can totally fill out this content calendar with a glass of wine or during commercial breaks of your favorite TV show.)

Let’s say you’re a health coach, so on Monday you post an inspirational quote for “Motivational Monday.” Write that quote in there. On Tuesday, you want to share your favorite breakfast recipe. Again, write that post in your content calendar.

Fill up the rest of the week…remember, you want to be posting valuable, juicy content for your followers, with some promotions sprinkled in.

Then pop into your Facebook page and schedule the content to go out automatically each day. This way, you don’t have to worry about posting each, individual post…just pop back on your page each day to engage with your lovely followers.

You can schedule your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., posts through platforms like Hootsuite or Buffer. For Instagram, I just pre-write daily posts in my iPhone’s Notes app. Then I just copy/paste that into Instagram, with a picture, and POST IT.

And, because I love you, there is an extra tab on the content calendar. This is where you can write down 5 categories of topics you want to be posting about and 3 things that make YOU unique. These two exercises will help you focus in on the type of content you would like to post and the kind of content that is valuable to your audience.

Anyhoo, I think that’s it for now…but who knows, I’m finishing a glass of wine, so my laser-sharp focus is mildly dulled.

Enjoy using this calendar! Seriously, just spend a wee bit of extra time one day each week to plan out your social media content. Then schedule that shit. That way, the stress of having to remember to post each day is gone.

Are you focusing on things that have to do with fear and negativity? For example…

the “lack” of something(s) in your life

what isn’t going well

everything that is going “wrong”

what you don’t like about your

situation/business/life

the negative in each situation

fear of not being able to pay bills or be successful

overwhelm with your business (not knowing where to start or what to do), your life, your schedule

how much you don’t like a certain person or situation

If you’re consumed with thoughts that surround those feelings above, guess what? It ain’t gonna get better. In fact, all those things that you are putting your energy toward are going to GROW and manifest even more in your life.

Jeepers.

Believe me, I know what it’s like to be consumed with ALL of those things. Because that was basically me for the last week and a half. Like, seriously, it’s true.

But in reality, so many things are abundant and going well in my life: my business is growing, I moved into my own beautiful 1-bedroom apartment in San Diego, I am LOVING rehearsals for the musical I am in (in fact, I’m playing the lead role!), I have amazing and loving family and friends surrounding me…but I was focusing on the negatives. The fears. The overwhelm. The “lack.” All I could focus on was what I *didn’t* want. People kept saying “Oh my gosh, I am SO happy for you! Things are going so well for you now!”

Expect I kept focusing on what was not going well. All that made me scared and overwhelmed. Financial responsibility and fears surrounding money, feeling like I wasn’t doing a good job at my part in the musical, how I wasn’t good enough at what I was doing to make it a business…my fears and feelings of “lack” were paralyzing me from doing anything productive.

Looking back, I realize a lot of this negative emotion was coming from my ego…which was probably flipping out at that point because I was stepping into an entirely new (and wonderful!) chapter of my life: new apartment on my own, more responsibility in my show AND really making moves to grow my business. Great things, but obviously out of my comfort zone. So, of course my brain was having a shit-fit, puking up all these fears to put me back in my “place” (i.e. my safe, stagnant comfort zone.)

But finally I had enough of my pity-party was like, “Dude, Lindsey. What the fuck. You KNOW better than this!! CHICA PLEASE.”

So luckily, with the help of a few “Notes from the Universe” and little pow-wow with me, myself and I, I reset my mindset.

OooOOOooohhh. That has a cool ring. “Reset my mindset.” Anyhoo.

I reminded myself that what I focus on GROWS.

I needed to focus and put my energy toward everything that was abundant and wonderful in my life and express gratitude for it. Focus on what I wanted to call into my life and focus on all the abundance that was coming my way (and being grateful for that too!)

I wrote notes to myself that were filled with positive affirmations, my goals and visions for this month and year and what I know I WILL accomplish. It’s like my own little tool-kit for happiness and abundance. I’m checking-in more with inspirational communities and meditating each morning.

And you know what? In the last several days that I have done this, I’ve already felt a major shift. I feel happier. I feel I can serve others and my clients better. I’ve started working with some amazing new people. Like, holy moly. This shit works yo.

I mean, Law of Attraction. It’s a thing. And even if we know all about it, we can still be derailed when we go through a huge transition. Fear, overwhelm and feelings of lack blind us from seeing the joy, the positive and the abundance that surrounds us.

Being down, fearful and negative are normal, human emotions, let’s be real. So feel those feelings if you have them. But it’s what you then do on a consistent basis to release those kinds of emotions that really make the magic happen. That make the mindset shifts happen. That make focusing on what you WANT become a habit.

So, I ask you again.What are YOU focusing on? I think you know what the answer should be ;)

They may seem like they just float around our heads, hidden from the world, but in reality, they actually create our reality. What we think and believe about ourselves is a direct reflection of how we carry ourselves throughout life.

Your thoughts become things, actions, decisions and beliefs.

If you want to start feeling happier or creating radical shifts in your life, look on the inside. What stories are you telling yourself (and believing) about YOU?

Do a little digging and reflecting on those beliefs, find out where they’re coming from and switch that shit up. Life is too precious to tell yourself you’re not good enough. Because you are, in fact, incredible.

You hold so much power as a human being…power to diminish yourself or lift yourself up. So respect that power and use it to brighten your life and the life of others.

Start with little affirmations that you say on a daily, consistent basis.

I was given these words as a prompt…what do each of them mean to me? Well, let me tell you below.

HOPE
REGRET
HOME
CHOICE
ABUNDANCE
SECRET

Hope is the flicker of light that warms your soul and keeps you moving forward, even when you feel like you’re falling backward. Hope turns to abundance and truth when you firmly believe in your hope and know it will manifest into being.

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Regret is the thing I am scared of the most in my life.

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Home. It’s where my heart is and always will be. Home is where I am the puzzle piece fitting exactly into the puzzle. Home is on stage performing. I feel more at home when I am open and vulnerable on a stage that when I am sitting in an audience watching.

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Choice. I believe (almost*) everything is a choice. Our emotions, mindset, thoughts, patterns, actions, decisions, reactions, words we say and write. The words we choose to hear and believe, from ourselves and others. We always have a choice. There is always a way out (or in.) There is always a choice that you can make. If you make the “wrong” one, you can make a “right” one again. We all have a choice. It is one of the most empowering and powerful things when you realize you have a CHOICE. Don’t like your job? Make a choice to realize that you deserve to do what sets your soul on fire and what makes you feel happy and healthy. Make a choice to make a change and do what is aligned with your truth. Make a choice to take action in that direction. Make a choice to not accept anything less that what you WANT and dream of. Choice. You have a choice. So make one and know you’re making it. And know you can un-make it as well. But don’t sit in limbo waiting for other people or the Universe to choose for you. It’s your life, YOU choose what you want to do with it.

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*I know not all things, including emotions and certain circumstances, are not our choice. I do believe however, we have a choice in how we react to those emotions and circumstances…what actions we take and what we believe.

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Abundance is waiting for you around every corner. You just have to see it in front of you. You have to believe that it is there and will always be there. You will always have abundance (whatever that means for you), even it feels like it’s out of reach.

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Secret. The secret to happiness is living your truth. Living your life on your terms and in alignment with your voice and what ignites your soul from the inside out. There’s always a way. There is no right path for everyone- that’s the secret. The “right” path for you is what you know is right for you…not anyone else.

I think we all have this expectation that when we have a meltdown, we’ll somehow look like the Disney princesses as they flawlessly toss their heads into their arms and do a few snot-free, back-heaving sobs. Who are then suddenly surrounded by their small woodland friends, all of whom have a vocabulary larger than mine, who comfort them in their weaker moments.

But “flawless” was the furthest thing from my meltdown today as I found myself sitting in my car, full-on sobs, nose running, eyes dripping and with nothing to wipe my face with other than the sleeve of my woolen-ish sweater (ew) and my hands.

If you’re like me, you can kind of tell when a mini-meltdown will be happening. Like how weather/science/geologist people predict something will happen within a given timeframe, they’re just not sure exactly when and what will set it off.

Welp, I am a super-scientist when it comes to my meltdowns. I know they’re gonna happen, but since I’m a fairly even-keeled person, I don’t know what will set them off. Although when the switch is flipped, it’s usually because of something completely unrelated…that “cap on the pickle-jar” scenario. It’s usually something ridiculous, like the trash bag not fitting on the lid of the trashcan. And rather than pleasantly giving up and buying different trash bags like a normal, sane person, we stretch that sucker until it breaks and the trash can flips over.

“Oh my gosh, why are you crying Lindsey??”

“The f*cking trash bag won’t fit on the f*cking trash can and it’s so stupid and I’m just so sick of this shit!!”

It wasn’t a trashcan that set me off today; it was finding zero parking spots in my neighborhood. Like zilch. All the ones I did find were free because of the street cleaning tomorrow, which was exactly why I was moving my car in the first place. After about 20 minutes of zooming around, I finally gave up and angrily jerked my car from drive to reverse from drive to reverse until I was backed into an open spot that was indeed marked for street cleaning tomorrow. And then I burst into tears.

A few weeks of going from my day job (which I love) to my apartment to do my work (building my business), with too little sleep and too much coffee, already had my poor adrenals on high alert. I wasn’t giving myself enough breathing time.

I love every single thing I am doing; it is a lot of work, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel like it. If I need to stay up until midnight to get my projects done, then so be it! I’m full of passion for what I’m creating and doing. The last few weekends have been great…but filled with work. Again, something I’m totally, 100% willing to do. Another under-lying factor is that I am confident in what I’m doing, but at the same time, I also feel like I have no idea what the hell I’m doing. I just keep believing in myself, taking action and feeling so blessed that I have support from amazing people.

But I could feel the breaking point coming where I would need to release the stress and adrenaline. I had hoped that it would be via a sad movie sob session or maybe even through a longer meditation (in my dreams), but no. Blubbering in my car. And then proudly prancing down Broderick Street to my apartment, face mildly streaked with make up and mascara (it was cute. And one more contributing factor to #thesinglelife.)

So, my meltdown wasn’t flawless. It was gushing, full of snot and clearly non-waterproof mascara. At the same time, it was fantastic and much needed.

But I can tell you what I am flawlessly doing right now is sitting on the floor of my apartment writing this with a spoonful of peanut butter in my mouth (it’s organic with no additives, thank you). This was post-forced-cuddle session with my bird, which, for those of you who know birds, “cuddling” isn’t their forte. He loved it though. I know it.

Anyways, I’m gonna go make dinner.

I know, there were no “action steps to make you life healthier and happier” in this post. But I hope this was a story that provided entertainment and a sense that we all have “those kinds of days.” A relatable “fairytale.”

Lots of love from the health and fitness coach who still stress-eats peanut butter once in a while. Peace out friends.

I have a chronic fear of being stuck. As in, this (relationship, career, home, job, city, environment) is sucking my soul and how will I ever get out of it?

Up until “adulthood” (aka post-graduate life), most of us live in the distinct time frame of a school year. Semesters, quarters, summer breaks…if a class is miserable, you know you’ll be done with it in December. If your roommate and apartment suck, you know you can move at the end of the semester. The chapters are short. There is always an end date.

But after graduation, at least for me, it was a wide-open expansive land of time and I guess it freaked me out more than I thought. I’m always afraid of being “stuck.”

Physically, in a relationship, a career, a city, in a certain environment. It’s not fear of commitment. Hell, I’ll 150% commit to something I believe in and if I think it’s a good thing. But it’s “stuck” in the sense of believing there is no way out of a situation that drains me of energy, positivity, passion and strength. A stagnant, negative relationship. A energy draining, anxiety-filled job. Scares the crap out of me if I ever think of getting stuck in either of those things.

But at the same time I have to laugh at myself. If I ever got myself in those situations, I get the hell out. I’m just that kind of person.

So what am I afraid of?

Being vulnerable enough to stay put for more than 6-months and see what happens? Being at peace and open to whatever the Universe brings me, whether that’s tomorrow or in 5 months?

It’s the no-end-date lifestyle that I need to get used to. In the past, I probably forced those end dates a little too soon and a little too often. I would get restless and scared that I wasn’t going anywhere or that I didn’t know what I wanted to do…so I would try and solve that by moving. Again.

I feel as though part of my restlessness is coming from the false sense of security I get when I move to a different city or job or apartment. I think that by picking up and moving, everything will be figured out. I’ll have left my problems and emotional angst in the last city. I’ll be in the right place…finally. I’ll find my true purpose…finally.

But it doesn’t work like that.

I realize that when I have those emotions to pick up and leave, to travel and explore (if I got a dollar for all the times I went on Hipmunk to find the cheapest plane ticket to Spain, I could pay for the damn ticket), it’s because I’m outwardly searching for answers I can only find on the inside. It’s a sign that I need to explore inwardly to find what I’m attempting to discover while on those daring, romantic adventures. I need to explore what is currently and presently surrounding me. Be present and real with it in that moment.

I’m where I am for a reason. The Universe is giving me all the tools to “find myself” right where I am. So by drastically shifting and moving my environment to “find myself,” I prolong the whole experience. Because finding yourself isn’t really a destination. It’s an everyday journey that we’re continually on. Yes, I believe one day we can discover our higher purposes and innate reason for being, but until then, finding ourself is being present with ourself. Where we are in that moment.

So as romantic as it sounds to “find myself” in a small cafe at the end of a winding cobblestone street in Italy or on a sunny beach in Greece…I’m not going to find myself any more than I would at the coffee shop down my street. Certainly, I can have grand discoveries or epiphanies or light-bulb moments while in those dreamy places, but it’s not going to lead me any closer to that forever elusive thing I’m trying to find.

Maybe if I stop searching, I won’t need to find anything. The answers are always here anyways.